The "Confessio" of Saint Patrick

The purported best early edition, with text, translation, and critical notes, is by Rev. Dr. White
for the Royal Irish Academy, published in 1905. If anyone has this book, I would
enjoy scanning and preparing it for the internet, to include the original Latin.

I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the
least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the
deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement [vicus]
of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I
was at that time about sixteen years of age. I did not, indeed, know the true
God; and I was taken into captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people,
according to our deserts, for quite drawn away from God, we did not keep his
precepts, nor were we obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our
salvation. And the Lord brought down on us the fury of his being and scattered
us among many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my smallness,
am now to be found among foreigners.
And there the Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief, in
order that, even so late, I might remember my transgressions and turn with all
my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my insignificance and pitied my
youth and ignorance. And he watched over me before I knew him, and before I
learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me,
and consoled me as a father would his son.
Therefore, indeed, I cannot keep silent, nor would it be proper, so
many favours and graces has the Lord deigned to bestow on me in the land of my
captivity. For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our way to
repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders before every nation under
heaven.
For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be
hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all
things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus
Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of
time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things,
and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man,
conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all
power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we
look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who
will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on
us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers
and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we
worship one God in the Trinity of holy name.
He himself said through the prophet: 'Call upon me in the day of
trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.' And again: 'It is right
to reveal and publish abroad the works of God.'
I am imperfect in many things, nevertheless I want my brethren and
kinsfolk to know my nature so that they may be able to perceive my soul's
desire.
I am not ignorant of what is said of my Lord in the Psalm: 'You
destroy those who speak a lie.' And again: 'A lying mouth deals death to the
soul.' And likewise the Lord says in the Gospel: 'On the day of judgment men
shall render account for every idle word they utter.'
So it is that I should mightily fear, with terror and trembling,
this judgment on the day when no one shall be able to steal away or hide, but
each and all shall render account for even our smallest sins before the judgment
seat of Christ the Lord.
And therefore for some time I have thought of
writing, but I have hesitated until now, for truly, I feared to expose myself to
the criticism of men, because I have not studied like others, who have
assimilated both Law and the Holy Scriptures equally and have never changed
their idiom since their infancy, but instead were always learning it
increasingly, to perfection, while my idiom and language have been translated
into a foreign tongue. So it is easy to prove from a sample of my writing, my
ability in rhetoric and the extent of my preparation and knowledge, for as it is
said, 'wisdom shall be recognized in speech, and in understanding, and in
knowledge and in the learning of truth.'
But why make excuses close to the truth, especially when now I am
presuming to try to grasp in my old age what I did not gain in my youth because
my sins prevented me from making what I had read my own? But who will believe
me, even though I should say it again? A young man, almost a beardless boy, I
was taken captive before I knew what I should desire and what I should shun. So,
consequently, today I feel ashamed and I am mightily afraid to expose my
ignorance, because, [not] eloquent, with a small vocabulary, I am unable to
explain as the spirit is eager to do and as the soul and the mind indicate.
But had it been given to me as to others, in gratitude I should not
have kept silent, and if it should appear that I put myself before others, with
my ignorance and my slower speech, in truth, it is written: 'The tongue of the
stammerers shall speak rapidly and distinctly.' How much harder must we try to
attain it, we of whom it is said: 'You are an epistle of Christ in greeting to
the ends of the earth ... written on your hearts, not with ink but with the
Spirit of the living God.' And again, 'the Spirit witnessed that the rustic life
was created by the Most High.'
I am, then, first of all, countryfied, an exile, evidently
unlearned, one who is not able to see into the future, but I know for certain,
that before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in deep mire, and he that is
mighty came and in his mercy raised me up and, indeed, lifted me high up and
placed me on top of the wall. And from there I ought to shout out in gratitude
to the Lord for his great favours in this world and for ever, that the mind of
man cannot measure.
Therefore be amazed, you great and small who fear God, and you men
of God, eloquent speakers, listen and contemplate. Who was it summoned me, a
fool, from the midst of those who appear wise and learned in the law and
powerful in rhetoric and in all things? Me, truly wretched in this world, he
inspired before others that I could be-- if I would-- such a one who, with fear
and reverence, and faithfully, without complaint, would come to the people to
whom the love of Christ brought me and gave me in my lifetime, if I should be
worthy, to serve them truly and with humility.
According, therefore, to the measure of one's faith in the Trinity,
one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of
God and everlasting consolation, to spread God's name everywhere with confidence
and without fear, in order to leave behind, after my death, foundations for my
brethren and sons whom I baptized in the Lord in so many thousands.
And I was not worthy, nor was I such that the Lord should grant his
humble servant this, that after hardships and such great trials, after
captivity, after many years, he should give me so much favour in these people, a
thing which in the time of my youth I neither hoped for nor imagined.
But after I reached Ireland I used to pasture
the flock each day and I used to pray many times a day. More and more did the
love of God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so
that in a day [I said] from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the night a like
number; besides I used to stay out in the forests and on the mountain and I
would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and
I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the
Spirit was burning in me at that time.
And it was there of course that one night in my
sleep I heard a voice saying to me: 'You do well to fast: soon you will depart
for your home country.' And again, a very short time later, there was a voice
prophesying: 'Behold, your ship is ready.' And it was not close by, but, as it
happened, two hundred miles away, where I had never been nor knew any person.
And shortly thereafter I turned about and fled from the man with whom I had been
for six years, and I came, by the power of God who directed my route to
advantage (and I was afraid of nothing), until I reached that ship.
And on the same day that I arrived, the ship was setting out from
the place, and I said that I had the wherewithal to sail with them; and the
steersman was displeased and replied in anger, sharply: 'By no means attempt to
go with us.' Hearing this I left them to go to the hut where I was staying, and
on the way I began to pray, and before the prayer was finished I heard one of
them shouting loudly after me: 'Come quickly because the men are calling you.'
And immediately I went back to them and they started to say to me: 'Come,
because we are admitting you out of good faith; make friendship with us in any
way you wish.' (And so, on that day, I refused to suck the breasts of these men
from fear of God, but nevertheless I had hopes that they would come to faith in
Jesus Christ, because they were barbarians.) And for this I continued with them,
and forthwith we put to sea.
And after three days we reached land, and for twenty-eight days
journeyed through uninhabited country, and the food ran out and hunger overtook
them; and one day the steersman began saying: 'Why is it, Christian? You say
your God is great and all-powerful; then why can you not pray for us? For we may
perish of hunger; it is unlikely indeed that we shall ever see another human
being.' In fact, I said to them, confidently: 'Be converted by faith with all
your heart to my Lord God, because nothing is impossible for him, so that today
he will send food for you on your road, until you be sated, because everywhere
he abounds.' And with God's help this came to pass; and behold, a herd of swine
appeared on the road before our eyes, and they slew many of them, and remained
there for two nights, and the were full of their meat and well restored, for
many of them had fainted and would otherwise have been left half dead by the
wayside. And after this they gave the utmost thanks to God, and I was esteemed
in their eyes, and from that day they had food abundantly. They discovered wild
honey, besides, and they offered a share to me, and one of them said: 'It is a
sacrifice.' Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.
The very same night while I was sleeping Satan attacked me
violently, as I will remember as long as I shall be in this body; and there fell
on top of me as it were, a huge rock, and not one of my members had any force.
But from whence did it come to me, ignorant in the spirit, to call upon
'Helias'? And meanwhile I saw the sun rising in the sky, and while I was crying
out 'Helias, Helias' with all my might, lo, the brilliance of that sun fell upon
me and immediately shook me free of all the weight; and I believe that I was
aided by Christ my Lord, and that his Spirit then was crying out for me, and I
hope that it will be so in the day of my affliction, just as it says in the
Gospel: 'In that hour', the Lord declares, 'it is not you who speaks but the
Spirit of your Father speaking in you.'
And a second time, after many years, I was taken captive. On the
first night I accordingly remained with my captors, but I heard a divine
prophecy, saying to me: 'You shall be with them for two months. So it happened.
On the sixtieth night the Lord delivered me from their hands.
On the journey he provided us with food and fire and dry weather
every day, until on the tenth day we came upon people. As I mentioned above, we
had journeyed through an unpopulated country for twenty-eight days, and in fact
the night that we came upon people we had no food.
And after a few years I was again in Britain
with my parents [kinsfolk], and they welcomed me as a son, and asked me, in
faith, that after the great tribulations I had endured I should not go anywhere
else away from them. And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a
man whose name was Victoricus coming as it from Ireland with innumerable
letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter:
'The Voice of the Irish', and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I
seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of
Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice:
'We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.' And
I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I
awoke. Thanks be to God, because after so many ears the Lord bestowed on them
according to their cry.
And another night-- God knows, I do not, whether within me or
beside me-- ... most words + ... + which I heard and could not understand,
except at the end of the speech it was represented thus: 'He who gave his life
for you, he it is who speaks within you.' And thus I awoke, joyful.
And on a second occasion I saw Him praying within me, and I was as
it were, inside my own body, and I heard Him above me-- that is, above my inner
self. He was praying powerfully with sighs. And in the course of this I was
astonished and wondering, and I pondered who it could be who was praying within
me. But at the end of the prayer it was revealed to me that it was the Spirit.
And so I awoke and remembered the Apostle's words: 'Likewise the Spirit helps us
in our weakness; for we know not how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit Himself
intercedes for us with sighs too deep for utterance.' And again: 'The Lord our
advocate intercedes for us.'
And then I was attacked by a goodly number of my elders, who
[brought up] my sins against my arduous episcopate. That day in particular I was
mightily upset, and might have fallen here and for ever; but the Lord generously
spared me, a convert, and an alien, for his name's sake, and he came powerfully
to my assistance in that state of being trampled down. I pray God that it shall
not be held against them as a sin that I fell truly into disgrace and scandal.
They brought up against me after thirty years
an occurrence I had confessed before becoming a deacon. On account of the
anxiety in my sorrowful mind, I laid before my close friend what I had
perpetrated on a day-- nay, rather in one hour-- in my boyhood because I was not
yet proof against sin. God knows-- I do not-- whether I was fifteen years old at
the time, and I did not then believe in the living God, nor had I believed,
since my infancy; but I remained in death and unbelief until I was severely
rebuked, and in truth I was humbled every day by hunger and nakedness.
On the other hand, I did not proceed to Ireland of my own accord
until I was almost giving up, but through this I was corrected by the Lord, and
he prepared me so that today I should be what was once far from me, in order
that I should have the care of-- or rather, I should be concerned for-- the
salvation of others, when at that time, still, I was only concerned for myself.
Therefore, on that day when I was rebuked, as I have just
mentioned, I saw in a vision of the night a document before my face, without
honour, and meanwhile I heard a divine prophecy, saying to me: 'We have seen
with displeasure the face of the chosen one divested of [his good] name.' And he
did not say 'You have seen with displeasure', but 'We have seen with
displeasure' (as if He included Himself) . He said then: 'He who touches you,
touches the apple of my eye.'
For that reason, I give thanks to him who strengthened me in all
things, so that I should not be hindered in my setting out and also in my work
which I was taught by Christ my Lord; but more, from that state of affairs I
felt, within me, no little courage, and vindicated my faith before God and man.
Hence, therefore, I say boldly that my conscience is clear now and
hereafter. God is my witness that I have not lied in these words to you.
But rather, I am grieved for my very close friend, that because of
him we deserved to hear such a prophecy. The one to whom I entrusted my soul!
And I found out from a goodly number of brethren, before the case was made in my
defence (in which I did not take part, nor was I in Britain, nor was it pleaded
by me), that in my absence he would fight in my behalf. Besides, he told me
himself: 'See, the rank of bishop goes to you'-- of which I was not worthy. But
how did it come to him, shortly afterwards, to disgrace me publicly, in the
presence of all, good and bad, because previously, gladly and of his own free
will, he pardoned me, as did the Lord, who is greater than all?
I have said enough. But all the same, I ought not to conceal God's
gift which he lavished on us in the land of my captivity, for then I sought him
resolutely, and I found him there, and he preserved me from all evils (as I
believe) through the in-dwelling of his Spirit, which works in me to this day.
Again, boldly, but God knows, if this had been made known to me by man, I might,
perhaps, have kept silent for the love of Christ.
Thus I give untiring thanks to God who kept me faithful in the day
of my temptation, so that today I may confidently over my soul as a living
sacrifice for Christ my Lord; who am I, Lord? or, rather, what is my calling?
that you appeared to me in so great a divine quality, so that today among the
barbarians I might constantly exalt and magnify your name in whatever place I
should be, and not only in good fortune, but even in affliction? So that
whatever befalls me, be it good or bad, I should accept it equally, and give
thanks always to God who revealed to me that I might trust in him, implicitly
and forever, and who will encourage me so that, ignorant, and in the last days,
I may dare to undertake so devout and so wonderful a work; so that I might
imitate one of those whom, once, long ago, the Lord already pre-ordained to be
heralds of his Gospel to witness to all peoples to the ends of the earth. So are
we seeing, and so it is fulfilled; behold, we are witnesses because the Gospel
has been preached as far as the places beyond which no man lives.
But it is tedious to describe in detail all my labours one by one.
I will tell briefly how most holy God frequently delivered me, from slavery, and
from the twelve trials with which my soul was threatened, from man traps as
well, and from things I am not able to put into words. I would not cause offence
to readers, but I have God as witness who knew all things even before they
happened, that, though I was a poor ignorant waif, still he gave me abundant
warnings through divine prophecy.
Whence came to me this wisdom which was not my own, I who neither
knew the number of days nor had knowledge of God? Whence came the so great and
so healthful gift of knowing or rather loving God, though I should lose homeland
and family.
And many gifts were offered to me with weeping and tears, and I
offended them [the donors], and also went against the wishes of a good number of
my elders; but guided by God, I neither agreed with them nor deferred to them,
not by my own grace but by God who is victorious in me and withstands them all,
so that I might come to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure insults
from unbelievers; that I might hear scandal of my travels, and endure man
persecutions to the extent of prison; and so that I might give up my free
birthright for the advantage of others, and if I should be worthy, I am ready
[to give] even in life without hesitation; and most willingly for His name. And
I choose to devote it to him even unto death, if God grant it to me.
I am greatly God's debtor, because he granted me so much grace,
that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon after confirmed,
and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the masses lately come to
belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth, just as he once promised
through his prophets: 'To you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth,
and shall say, Our fathers have inherited naught hut lies, worthless things in
which there is no profit.' And again: 'I have set you to be a light for the
Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the uttermost ends of the earth.'
And I wish to wait then for his promise which is never unfulfilled,
just as it is promised in the Gospel: 'Many shall come from east and west and
shall sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.' Just as we believe that
believers will come from all the world.
So for that reason one should, in fact, fish well and diligently,
just as the Lord foretells and teaches, saying, 'Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men,' and again through the prophets: 'Behold, I am sending forth
many fishers and hunters, says the Lord,' et cetera. So it behoved us to spread
our nets, that a vast multitude and throng might be caught for God, and so there
might be clergy everywhere who baptized and exhorted a needy and desirous
people. Just as the Lord says in the Gospel, admonishing and instructing: 'Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always to the end of time.' And
again he says: 'Go forth into the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.
He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe
shall be condemned.' And again: 'This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached
throughout the whole world as a witness to all nations; and then the end of the
world shall come.' And likewise the Lord foretells through the prophet: 'And it
shall come to pass in the last days (sayeth the Lord) that I will pour out my
spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your
young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my
menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit and they
shall prophesy.' And in Hosea he says: 'Those who are not my people I will call
my people, and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place
where it was said to them, You are not my people, they will be called 'Sons of
the living God'.'
So, how is it that in Ireland, where they
never had any knowledge of God but, always, until now, cherished idols and
unclean things, they are lately become a people of the Lord, and are called
children of God; the sons of the Scotti and the daughters of the
chieftains are to be seen as monks and virgins of Christ.
And there was, besides, a most beautiful,
blessed, native-born noble Scotta woman of adult age whom I baptized;
and a few days later she had reason to come to us to intimate that she had
received a prophecy from a divine messenger [who] advised her that she should
become a virgin of Christ and she would draw nearer to God. Thanks be to God,
six days from then, opportunely and most eagerly, she took the course that all
virgins of God take, not with their fathers' consent but enduring the
persecutions and deceitful hindrances of their parents. Notwithstanding that,
their number increases, (we do not know the number of them that are so reborn)
besides the widows, and those who practise self-denial. Those who are kept in
slavery suffer the most. They endure terrors and constant threats, but the Lord
has given grace to many of his handmaidens, for even though they are forbidden
to do so, still they resolutely follow his example.
So it is that even if I should wish to separate from them in order
to go to Britain, and most willingly was I prepared to go to my homeland and
kinsfolk-- and not only there, but as far as Gaul to visit the brethren there,
so that I might see the faces of the holy ones of my Lord, God knows how
strongly I desired this-- I am bound by the Spirit, who witnessed to me that if
I did so he would mark me out as guilty, and I fear to waste the labour that I
began, and not I, but Christ the Lord, who commanded me to come to be with them
for the rest of my life, if the Lord shall will it and shield me from every
evil, so that I may not sin before him.
So I hope that I did as I ought, but I do not trust myself as long
as I am in this mortal body, for he is strong who strives daily to turn me away
from the faith and true holiness to which I aspire until the end of my life for
Christ my Lord, but the hostile flesh is always dragging one down to death, that
is, to unlawful attractions. And I know in part why I did not lead a perfect
life like other believers, but I confess to my Lord and do not blush in his
sight, because I am not lying; from the time when I came to know him in my
youth, the love of God and fear of him increased in me, and right up until now,
by God's favour, I have kept the faith.
What is more, let anyone laugh and taunt if he so wishes. I am not
keeping silent, nor am I hiding the signs and wonders that were shown to me by
the Lord many years before they happened, [he] who knew everything, even before
the beginning of time.
Thus, I should give thanks unceasingly to God, who frequently
forgave my folly and my negligence, in more than one instance so as not to be
violently angry with me, who am placed as his helper, and I did not easily
assent to what had been revealed to me, as the Spirit was urging; and the Lord
took pity on me thousands upon thousands of times, because he saw within me that
I was prepared, but that I was ignorant of what to do in view of my situation;
because many were trying to prevent this mission. They were talking among
themselves behind my back, and saying: 'Why is this fellow throwing himself into
danger among enemies who know not God?' Not from malice, but having no liking
for it; likewise, as I myself can testify, they perceived my rusticity. And I
was not quick to recognize the grace that was then in me; I now know that I
should have done so earlier.
Now I have put it frankly to my brethren and co-workers, who have
believed me because of what I have foretold and still foretell to strengthen and
reinforce your faith. I wish only that you, too, would make greater and better
efforts. This will be my pride, for 'a wise son makes a proud father'.
You know, as God does, how I went about among you from my youth in
the faith of truth and in sincerity of heart. As well as to the heathen among
whom I live, I have shown them trust and always show them trust. God knows I did
not cheat any one of them, nor consider it, for the sake of God and his Church,
lest I arouse them and [bring about] persecution for them and for all of us, and
lest the Lord's name be blasphemed because of me, for it is written: 'Woe to the
men through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed.'
For even though I am ignorant in all things, nevertheless I
attempted to safeguard some and myself also. And I gave back again to my
Christian brethren and the virgins of Christ and the holy women the small
unasked for gifts that they used to give me or some of their ornaments which
they used to throw on the altar. And they would be offended with me because I
did this. But in the hope of eternity, I safeguarded myself carefully in all
things, so that they might not cheat me of my office of service on any pretext
of dishonesty, and so that I should not in the smallest way provide any occasion
for defamation or disparagement on the part of unbelievers.
What is more, when I baptized so many thousands of people, did I
hope for even half a jot from any of them? [If so] Tell me, and I will give it
back to you. And when the Lord ordained clergy everywhere by my humble means,
and I freely conferred office on them, if I asked any of them anywhere even for
the price of one shoe, say so to my face and I will give it back.
More, I spent for you so that they would receive me. And I went
about among you, and everywhere for your sake, in danger, and as far as the
outermost regions beyond which no one lived, and where no one had ever
penetrated before, to baptize or to ordain clergy or to confirm people.
Conscientiously and gladly I did all this work by God's gift for your salvation.
From time to time I gave rewards to the kings, as well as making
payments to their sons who travel with me; notwithstanding which, they seized me
with my companions, and that day most avidly desired to kill me. But my time had
not yet come. They plundered everything they found on us anyway, and fettered me
in irons; and on the fourteenth day the Lord freed me from their power, and
whatever they had of ours was given back to us for the sake of God on account of
the indispensable friends whom we had made before.
Also you know from experience how much I was paying to those who
were administering justice in all the regions, which I visited often. I estimate
truly that I distributed to them not less than the price of fifteen men, in
order that you should enjoy my company and I enjoy yours, always, in God. I do
not regret this nor do I regard it as enough. I am paying out still and I shall
pay out more. The Lord has the power to grant me that I may soon spend my own
self, for your souls.
Behold, I call on God as my witness upon my soul that I am not
lying; nor would I write to you for it to be an occasion for flattery or
selfishness, nor hoping for honour from any one of you. Sufficient is the honour
which is not yet seen, but in which the heart has confidence. He who made the
promise is faithful; he never lies.
But I see that even here and now, I have been exalted beyond
measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy that he should grant me this, while I
know most certainly that poverty and failure suit me better than wealth and
delight (but Christ the Lord was poor for our sakes; I certainly am wretched and
unfortunate; even if I wanted wealth I have no resources, nor is it my own
estimation of myself, for daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced
to slavery if the occasion arises. But I fear nothing, because of the promises
of Heaven; for I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, who reigns
everywhere. As the prophet says: 'Cast your burden on the Lord and he will
sustain you.'
Behold now I commend my soul to God who is most faithful and for
whom I perform my mission in obscurity, but he is no respecter of persons and he
chose me for this service that I might be one of the least of his ministers.
For which reason I should make return for all that he returns me.
But what should I say, or what should I promise to my Lord, for I, alone, can do
nothing unless he himself vouchsafe it to me. But let him search my heart and
[my] nature, for I crave enough for it, even too much, and I am ready for him to
grant me that I drink of his chalice, as he has granted to others who love him.
Therefore may it never befall me to be separated by my God from his
people whom he has won in this most remote land. I pray God that he gives me
perseverance, and that he will deign that I should be a faithful witness for his
sake right up to the time of my passing.
And if at any time I managed anything of good for the sake of my
God whom I love, I beg of him that he grant it to me to shed my blood for his
name with proselytes and captives, even should I be left unburied, or even were
my wretched body to be torn limb from limb by dogs or savage beasts, or were it
to be devoured by the birds of the air, I think, most surely, were this to have
happened to me, I had saved both my soul and my body. For beyond any doubt on
that day we shall rise again in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory
of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as children of the living God and co-heirs of
Christ, made in his image; for we shall reign through him and for him and in
him.
For the sun we see rises each day for us at [his] command, but it
will never reign, neither will its splendour last, but all who worship it will
come wretchedly to punishment. We, on the other hand, shall not die, who believe
in and worship the true sun, Christ, who will never die, no more shall he die
who has done Christ's will, but will abide for ever just as Christ abides for
ever, who reigns with God the Father Almighty and with the Holy Spirit before
the beginning of time and now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Behold over and over again I would briefly set out the words of my
confession. I testify in truthfulness and gladness of heart before God and his
holy angels that I never had any reason, except the Gospel and his promises,
ever to have returned to that nation from which I had previously escaped with
difficulty.
But I entreat those who believe in and fear
God, whoever deigns to examine or receive this document composed by the
obviously unlearned sinner Patrick in Ireland, that nobody shall ever ascribe to
my ignorance any trivial thing that I achieved or may have expounded that was
pleasing to God, but accept and truly believe that it would have been the gift
of God. And this is my confession before I die.

Version 2 Translated from the Latin by
Ludwig Bieler

I am Patrick, a sinner, most unlearned, the least of all the faithful, and
utterly despised by many. My father was Calpornius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a
priest, of the village Bannavem Taburnić; he had a country seat nearby, and
there I was taken captive.
I was then about sixteen years of age. I did not know the true God. I was
taken into captivity to Ireland with many thousands of people---and deservedly
so, because we turned away from God, and did not keep His commandments, and did
not obey our priests, who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord
brought over us the wrath of his anger and scattered us among many nations, even
unto the utmost part of the earth, where now my littleness is placed among
strangers.
And there the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last
remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had
regard for my abjection, and mercy on my youth and ignorance, and watched over
me before I knew Him, and before I was able to distinguish between good and
evil, and guarded me, and comforted me as would a father his son.
Hence I cannot be silent -- nor, indeed, is it expedient --- about the great
benefits and the great grace which the lord has deigned to bestow upon me in the
land of my captivity; for this we can give to God in return after having been
chastened by Him, to exalt and praise His wonders before every nation that is
anywhere under the heaven.
Because there is no other God, nor ever was, nor will be,
than God the Father unbegotten, without beginning, from whom is all beginning,
the Lord of the universe, as we have been taught; and His son Jesus Christ, whom
we declare to have always been with the Father, spiritually and ineffably
begotten by the Father before the beginning of the world, before all beginning;
and by Him are made all things visible and invisible. He was made man, and,
having defeated death, was received into heaven by the Father; and He hath given
Him all power over all names in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every
tongue shall confess to Him that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we
believe, and whose advent we expect soon to be, judge of the living and of the
dead, who will render to every man according to his deeds; and He has poured
forth upon us abundantly the Holy Spirit, the gift and pledge of immortality,
who makes those who believe and obey sons of God and joint heirs with Christ;
and Him do we confess and adore, one God in the Trinity of the Holy Name.
For He Himself has said through the Prophet: Call upon me in the day of thy
trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. And again He says:
It is honourable to reveal and confess the works of God.
Although I am imperfect in many things, I nevertheless wish that my brethren
and kinsmen should know what sort of person I am, so that they may understand my
heart's desire.
I know well the testimony of my Lord, who in the Psalm declares: Thou wilt
destroy them that speak a lie. And again He says: The mouth that belieth killeth
the soul. And the same Lord says in the Gospel: Every idle word that men shall
speak, they shall render an account for it on the day of judgement.
And so I should dread exceedingly, with fear and trembling, this sentence on
that day when no one will be able to escape or hide, but we all, without
exception, shall have to give an account even of our smallest sins before the
judgement of the Lord Christ.
For this reason I had in mind to write, but hesitated until now; I was afraid
of exposing myself to the talk of men, because I have not studied like the
others, who thoroughly imbibed law and Sacred Scripture, and never had to change
from the language of their childhood days, but were able to make it still more
perfect. In our case, what I had to say had to be translated into a tongue
foreign to me, as can be easily proved from the savour of my writing, which
betrays how little instruction and training I have had in the art of words; for,
so says Scripture, by the tongue will be discovered the wise man, and
understanding, and knowledge, and the teaching of truth.
But of what help is an excuse, however true, especially if combined with
presumption, since now, in my old age, I strive for something that I did not
acquire in youth? It was my sins that prevented me from fixing in my mind what
before I had barely read through. But who believes me, though I should repeat
what I started out with?
As a youth, nay, almost as a boy not able to speak, I was taken captive,
before I knew what to pursue and what to avoid. Hence to-day I blush and fear
exceedingly to reveal my lack of education; for I am unable to tell my story to
those versed in the art of concise writing---in such a way, I mean, as my spirit
and mind long to do, and so that the sense of my words expresses what I feel.
But if indeed it had been given to me as it was given to others, then I would
not be silent because of my desire of thanksgiving; and if perhaps some people
think me arrogant for doing so in spite of my lack of knowledge and my slow
tongue, it is, after all, written: The stammering tongues shall quickly learn to
speak peace.
How much more should we earnestly strive to do this, we, who are, so
Scripture says, a letter of Christ for salvation unto the utmost part of the
earth, and, though not an eloquent one, yet ... written in your hearts, not with
ink, but with the spirit of the living God! And again the Spirit witnesses that
even rusticity was created by the Highest.
Whence I, once rustic, exiled, unlearned, who does not know how to provide
for the future, this at least I know most certainly that before I was humiliated
I was like a stone Lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came and in His
mercy lifted me up, and raised me aloft, and placed me on the top of the wall.
And therefore I ought to cry out aloud and so also render something to the Lord
for His great benefits here and in eternity --- benefits which the mind of men is
unable to appraise.
Wherefore, then, be astonished, ye great and little that fear God, and you
men of letters on your estates, listen and pore over this. Who was it that
roused up me, the fool that I am, from the midst of those who in the eyes of men
are wise, and expert in law, and powerful in word and in everything? And He
inspired me --- me, the outcast of this world --- before others, to be the man (if
only I could!) who, with fear and reverence and without blame, should faithfully
serve the people to whom the love of Christ conveyed and gave me for the
duration of my life, if I should be worthy; yes indeed, to serve them humbly and
sincerely.
In the light, therefore, of our faith in the Trinity I must make this choice,
regardless of danger I must make known the gift of God and everlasting
consolation, without fear and frankly I must spread everywhere the name of God
so that after my decease I may leave a bequest to my brethren and sons whom I
have baptised in the Lord --- so many thousands of people.
And I was not worthy, nor was I such that the Lord should grant this to His
servant; that after my misfortunes and so great difficulties, after my
captivity, after the lapse of so many years, He should give me so great a grace
in behalf of that nation---a thing which once, in my youth, I never expected nor
thought of.
But after I came to Ireland---every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a
day I prayed---the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my
faith was strengthened. And my spirit was moved so that in a single day I would
say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many in the night, and this even
when I was staying in the woods and on the mountains; and I used to get up for
prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no
harm, and there was no sloth in me---as I now see, because the spirit within me
was then fervent.
And there one night I heard in my sleep a voice saying to me: 'It is well
that you fast, soon you will go to your own country.' And again, after a short
while, I heard a voice saying to me: 'See, your ship is ready.' And it was not
near, but at a distance of perhaps two hundred miles, and I had never been
there, nor did I know a living soul there; and then I took to flight, and I left
the man with whom I had stayed for six years. And I went in the strength of God
who directed my way to my good, and I feared nothing until I came to that ship.
And the day that I arrived the ship was set afloat, and I said that I was
able to pay for my passage with them. But the captain was not pleased, and with
indignation he answered harshly: 'It is of no use for you to ask us to go along
with us.' And when I heard this, I left them in order to return to the hut where
I was staying. And as I went, I began to pray; and before I had ended my prayer,
I heard one of them shouting behind me, 'Come, hurry, we shall take you on in
good faith; make friends with us in whatever way you like.' And so on that day I
refused to suck their breasts for fear of God, but rather hoped they would come
to the faith of Jesus Christ, because they were pagans. And thus I had my way
with them, and we set sail at once.
And after three days we reached land, and for twenty-eight days we travelled
through deserted country. And they lacked food, and hunger overcame them; and
the next day the captain said to me: 'Tell me, Christian: you say that your God
is great and all-powerful; why, then, do you not pray for us? As you can see, we
are suffering from hunger; it is unlikely indeed that we shall ever see a human
being again.'
I said to them full of confidence: 'Be truly converted with all your heart to
the Lord my God, because nothing is impossible for Him, that this day He may
send you food on your way until you be satisfied; for He has abundance
everywhere.' And, with the help of God, so it came to pass: suddenly a herd of
pigs appeared on the road before our eyes, and they killed many of them; and
there they stopped for two nights and fully recovered their strength, and their
hounds received their fill for many of them had grown weak and were half-dead
along the way. And from that day they had plenty of food. They also found wild
honey, and offered some of it to me, and one of them said: 'This we offer in
sacrifice.' Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.
That same night, when I was asleep, Satan assailed me violently, a thing I
shall remember as long as I shall be in this body. And he fell upon me like a
huge rock, and I could not stir a limb. But whence came it into my mind,
ignorant as I am, to call upon Helias? And meanwhile I saw the sun rise in the
sky, and while I was shouting 'Helias! Helias' with all my might, suddenly the
splendour of that sun fell on me and immediately freed me of all misery. And I
believe that I was sustained by Christ my Lord, and that His Spirit was even
then crying out in my behalf, and I hope it will be so on the day of my
tribulation, as is written in the Gospel: On that day, the Lord declares, it is
not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.
And once again, after many years, I fell into captivity. On that first night
I stayed with them, I heard a divine message saying to me: 'Two months will you
be with them.' And so it came to pass: on the sixtieth night thereafter the Lord
delivered me out of their hands.
Also on our way God gave us food and fire and dry weather every day, until,
on the tenth day, we met people. As I said above, we travelled twenty-eight days
through deserted country, and the night that we met people we had no food left.
And again after a few years I was in Britain with my people. who received me
as their son, and sincerely besought me that now at last, having suffered so
many hardships, I should not leave them and go elsewhere.
And there I saw in the night the vision of a man, whose name was Victoricus,
coming as it were from Ireland, with countless letters. And he gave me one of
them, and I read the opening words of the letter, which were, 'The voice of the
Irish'; and as I read the beginning of the letter I thought that at the same
moment I heard their voice---they were those beside the Wood of Voclut, which is
near the Western Sea---and thus did they cry out as with one mouth: 'We ask
thee, boy, come and walk among us once more.'
And I was quite broken in heart, and could read no further, and so I woke up.
Thanks be to God, after many years the Lord gave to them according to their cry.
And another night---whether within me, or beside me, I know not, God
knoweth---they called me most unmistakably with words which I heard but could
not understand, except that at the end of the prayer He spoke thus: 'He that has
laid down His life for thee, it is He that speaketh in thee'; and so I awoke
full of joy.
And again I saw Him praying in me, and I was as it were within my body, and I
heard Him above me, that is, over the inward man, and there He prayed mightily
with groanings. And all the time I was astonished, and wondered, and thought
with myself who it could be that prayed in me. But at the end of the prayer He
spoke, saying that He was the Spirit; and so I woke up, and remembered the
Apostle saying: The Spirit helpeth the infirmities of our prayer. For we know
not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself asketh for us
with unspeakable groanings, which cannot be expressed in words; and again: The
Lord our advocate asketh for us.
And when I was attacked by a number of my seniors who came forth and brought
up my sins against my laborious episcopate, on that day indeed was I struck so
that I might have fallen now and for eternity; but the Lord graciously spared
the stranger and sojourner for His name and came mightily to my help in this
affliction Verily, not slight was the shame and blame that fell upon me! I ask
God that it may not be reckoned to them as sin.
As cause for proceeding against me they found---after thirty years!---a
confession I had made before I was a deacon. In the anxiety of my troubled mind
I confided to my dearest friend what I had done in my boyhood one day, nay, in
one hour, because I was not yet strong. I know not, God knoweth---whether I was
then fifteen years old: and I did not believe in the living God, nor did I so
from my childhood, but lived in death and unbelief until I was severely
chastised and really humiliated, by hunger and nakedness, and that daily.
On the other hand, I did not go to Ireland of my own accord, not until I had
nearly perished; but this was rather for my good, for thus was I purged by the
Lord; and He made me fit so that I might be now what was once far from me that I
should care and labour for the salvation of others, whereas then I did not even
care about myself.
On that day, then, when I was rejected by those referred to and mentioned
above, in that night I saw a vision of the night. There was a writing without
honour against my face, and at the same time I heard God's voice saying to me:
'We have seen with displeasure the face of Deisignatus' (thus revealing his
name). He did not say, 'Thou hast seen.' but 'We have seen.' as if He included
Himself, as He sayeth: He who toucheth you toucheth as it were the apple of my
eye.
Therefore I give Him thanks who hath strengthened me in everything, as He did
not frustrate the journey upon which I had decided, and the work which I had
learned from Christ my Lord; but I rather felt after this no little strength,
and my trust was proved right before God and men.
And so I say boldly, my conscience does not blame me now or in the future:
God is my witness that I have not lied in the account which I have given you.
But the more am I sorry for my dearest friend that we had to hear what he
said. To him I had confided my very soul! And I was told by some of the brethren
before that defence---at which I was not present, nor was I in Britain, nor was
it suggested by me---that he would stand up for me in my absence. He had even
said to me in person: `Look, you should be raised to the rank of bishop!'---of
which I was not worthy. But whence did it come to him afterwards that he let me
down before all, good and evil, and publicly, in a matter in which he had
favoured me before spontaneously and gladly---and not he alone, but the Lord,
who is greater than all?
Enough of this. I must not, however, hide God's gift which He bestowed upon
me in the land of my captivity; because then I earnestly sought Him, and there I
found Him, and He saved me from all evil because---so I believe---of His Spirit
that dwelleth in me. Again, boldly said. But God knows it, had this been said to
me by a man, I had perhaps remained silent for the love of Christ.
Hence, then, I give unwearied thanks to God, who kept me faithful in the day
of my temptation, so that today I can confidently offer Him my soul as a living
sacrifice---to Christ my Lord, who saved me out of all my troubles. Thus I can
say: 'Who am I, 0 Lord, and to what hast Thou called me, Thou who didst assist
me with such divine power that to-day I constantly exalt and magnify Thy name
among the heathens wherever I may be, and not only in good days but also in
tribulations?' So indeed I must accept with equanimity whatever befalls me, be
it good or evil, and always give thanks to God, who taught me to trust in Him
always without hesitation, and who must have heard my prayer so that I, however
ignorant I was, in the last days dared to undertake such a holy and wonderful
work---thus imitating somehow those who, as the Lord once foretold, would preach
His Gospel for a testimony to all nations before the end of the world. So we
have seen it, and so it has been fulfilled: indeed, we are witnesses that the
Gospel has been preached unto those parts beyond which there lives nobody.
Now, it would be tedious to give a detailed account of all my labours or even
a part of them. Let me tell you briefly how the merciful God often freed me from
slavery and from twelve dangers in which my life was at stake---not to mention
numerous plots, which I cannot express in words; for I do not want to bore my
readers. But God is my witness, who knows all things even before they come to
pass, as He used to forewarn even me, poor wretch that I am, of many things by a
divine message.
How came I by this wisdom, which was not in me, who neither knew the number
of my days nor knew what God was? Whence was given to me afterwards the gift so
great, so salutary---to know God and to love Him, although at the price of
leaving my country and my parents?
And many gifts were offered to me in sorrow and tears, and I offended the
donors, much against the wishes of some of my seniors; but, guided by God, in no
way did I agree with them or acquiesce. It was not grace of my own, but God, who
is strong in me and resists them all---as He had done when I came to the people
of Ireland to preach the Gospel, and to suffer insult from the unbelievers,
hearing the reproach of my going abroad, and many persecutions even unto bonds,
and to give my free birth for the benefit of others; and, should I be worthy, I
am prepared to give even my life without hesitation and most gladly for His
name, and it is there that I wish to spend it until I die, if the Lord would
grant it to me.
For I am very much God's debtor, who gave me such grace that many people were
reborn in God through me and afterwards confirmed, and that clerics were
ordained for them everywhere, for a people just coming to the faith, whom the
Lord took from the utmost parts of the earth, as He once had promised through
His prophets: To Thee the gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth and
shall say: 'How false are the idols that our fathers got for themselves, and
there is no profit in them'; and again: 'I have set Thee as a light among the
gentiles, that Thou mayest be for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth.'
And there I wish to wait for His promise who surely never deceives, as He
promises in the Gospel: They shall come from the east and the west, and shall
sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob---as we believe the faithful will come
from all the world.
For that reason, therefore, we ought to fish well and diligently, as the Lord
exhorts in advance and teaches, saying: Come ye after me, and I will make you to
be fishers of men. And again He says through the prophets: Behold, I send many
fishers and hunters, saith God, and so on. Hence it was most necessary to spread
our nets so that a great multitude and throng might be caught for God, and that
there be clerics everywhere to baptize and exhort a people in need and want, as
the Lord in the Gospel states, exhorts and teaches, saying: Going therefore now,
teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world.
And again He says: Go ye therefore into the whole world, and preach the Gospel
to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be condemned. And again: This Gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in the whole world for a testimony to all nations, and then shall come
the end. And so too the Lord announces through the prophet, and says: And it
shall come to pass, in the last days, saith the Lord, I will pour out of my
Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your
young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And upon my
servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of my
Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And in Osee, He saith: 'I will call that
which was not my people, my people; ...and her that had not obtained mercy, one
that hath obtained mercy. And it shall be in the place where it was said:
"You
are not my people,'' there they shall be called the sons of the living God.'
Hence, how did it come to pass in Ireland that those who never had a
knowledge of God, but until now always worshipped idols and things impure, have
now been made a people of the Lord, and are called sons of God, that the sons
and daughters of the kings of the Irish are seen to be monks and virgins of
Christ?
Among others, a blessed Irishwoman of noble birth, beautiful, full-grown,
whom I had baptized, came to us after some days for a particular reason: she
told us that she had received a message from a messenger of God, and he
admonished her to be a virgin of Christ and draw near to God. Thanks be to God,
on the sixth day after this she most laudably and eagerly chose what all virgins
of Christ do. Not that their fathers agree with them: no---they often ever
suffer persecution and undeserved reproaches from their parents; and yet their
number is ever increasing. How many have been reborn there so as to be of our
kind, I do not know---not to mention widows and those who practice continence.
But greatest is the suffering of those women who live in slavery. All the
time they have to endure terror and threats. But the Lord gave His grace to many
of His maidens; for, though they are forbidden to do so, they follow Him
bravely.
Wherefore, then, even if I wished to leave them and go to Britain---and how I
would have loved to go to my country and my parents, and also to Gaul in order
to visit the brethren and to see the face of the saints of my Lord! God knows
it! that I much desired it; but I am bound by the Spirit, who gives evidence
against me if I do this, telling me that I shall be guilty; and I am afraid of
losing the labour which I have begun---nay, not I, but Christ the Lord who bade
me come here and stay with them for the rest of my life, if the Lord will, and
will guard me from every evil way that I may not sin before Him.
This, I presume, I ought to do, but I do not trust myself as long as I am in
this body of death, for strong is he who daily strives to turn me away from the
faith and the purity of true religion to which I have devoted myself to the end
of my I life to Christ my Lord. But the hostile flesh is ever dragging us unto
death, that I is, towards the forbidden satisfaction of one's desires; and I
know that in part I did not lead a perfect life as did the other faithful; but I
acknowledge it to my! Lord, and do not blush before Him, because I lie not: from
the time I came to know Him in my youth, the love of God and the fear of Him
have grown in me, and up to now, thanks to the grace of God, I have kept the
faith.
And let those who will, laugh and scorn---I shall not be silent; nor shall I
hide the signs and wonders which the Lord has shown me many years before they
came to pass, as He knows everything even before the times of the world.
Hence I ought unceasingly to give thanks to God who often pardoned my folly
and my carelessness, and on more than one occasion spared His great wrath on me,
who was chosen to be His helper and who was slow to do as was shown me and as
the Spirit suggested. And the Lord had mercy on me thousands and thousands of
times because He saw that I was ready, but that I did not know what to do in the
circumstances. For many tried to prevent this my mission; they would even talk
to each other behind my back and say: 'Why does this fellow throw himself into
danger among enemies who have no knowledge of God?' It was not malice, but it
did not appeal to them because---and to this I own myself---of my rusticity. And
I did not realize at once the grace that was then in me; now I understand that I
should have done so before.
Now I have given a simple account to my brethren and fellow servants who have
believed me because of what I said and still say in order to strengthen and
confirm your faith. Would that you, too, would strive for greater things and do
better! This will be my glory, for a wise son is the glory of his father.
You know, and so does God, how I have lived among you from my youth in the
true faith and in sincerity of heart. Likewise, as regards the heathen among
whom I live, I have been faithful to them, and so I shall be. God knows it, I
have overreached none of them, nor would I think of doing so, for the sake of
God and His Church, for fear of raising persecution against them and all of us,
and for fear that through me the name of the Lord be blasphemed; for it is
written: Woe to the man through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed.
For although I be rude in all things, nevertheless I have tried somehow to
keep myself safe, and that, too, for my Christian brethren, and the virgins of
Christ, and the pious women who of their own accord made me gifts and laid on
the altar some of their ornaments and I gave them back to them, and they were
offended that I did so. But I did it for the hope of lasting success---in order
to preserve myself cautiously in everything so that they might not seize upon me
or the ministry of my service, under the pretext of dishonesty, and that I would
not even in the smallest matter give the infidels an opportunity to defame or
defile.
When I baptized so many thousands of people, did I perhaps expect from any of
them as much as half a scruple? Tell me, and I will restore it to you. Or when
the Lord ordained clerics everywhere through my unworthy person and I conferred
the ministry upon them free, if I asked any of them as much as the price of my
shoes, speak against me and I will return it to you.
On the contrary, I spent money for you that they might receive me; and I went
to you and everywhere for your sake in many dangers, even to the farthest
districts, beyond which there lived nobody and where nobody had ever come to
baptize, or to ordain clergy, or to confirm the people. With the grace of the
Lord, I did everything lovingly and gladly for your salvation.
All the while I used to give presents to the kings, besides the fees I paid
to their sons who travel with me. Even so they laid hands on me and my
companions, and on that day they eagerly wished to kill me; but my time had not
yet come. And everything they found with us they took away, and me they put in
irons; and on the fourteenth day the Lord delivered me from their power, and our
belongings were returned to us because of God and our dear friends whom we had
seen before.
You know how much I paid to those who administered justice in all those
districts to which I came frequently. I think I distributed among them not less
than the price of fifteen men, so that you might enjoy me, and I might always
enjoy you in God. I am not sorry for it---indeed it is not enough for me; I
still spend and shall spend more. God has power to grant me afterwards that I
myself may be spent for your souls.
Indeed, I call God to witness upon my soul that I lie not; neither, I hope,
am I writing to you in order to make this an occasion of flattery or
covetousness, nor because I look for honour from any of you. Sufficient is the
honour that is not yet seen but is anticipated in the heart. Faithful is He that
promised; He never lieth.
But I see myself exalted even in the present world beyond measure by the
Lord, and I was not worthy nor such that He should grant me this. I know
perfectly well, though not by my own judgement, that poverty and misfortune
becomes me better than riches and pleasures. For Christ the Lord, too, was poor
for our sakes; and I, unhappy wretch that I am, have no wealth even if I wished
for it. Daily I expect murder, fraud, or captivity, or whatever it may be; but I
fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven. I have cast myself
into the hands of God Almighty, who rules everywhere, as the prophet says: Cast
thy thought upon God, and He shall sustain thee.
So, now I commend my soul to my faithful God, for whom I am an ambassador in
all my wretchedness; but God accepteth no person, and chose me for this
office---to be, although among His least, one of His ministers.
Hence let me render unto Him for all He has done to me. But what can I say or
what can I promise to my Lord, as I can do nothing that He has not given me? May
He search the hearts and deepest feelings; for greatly and exceedingly do I
wish, and ready I was, that He should give me His chalice to drink, as He gave
it also to the others who loved Him.
Wherefore may God never permit it to happen to me that I should lose His
people which He purchased in the utmost parts of the world. I pray to God to
give me perseverance and to deign that I be a faithful witness to Him to the end
of my life for my God.
And if ever I have done any good for my God whom I love, I beg Him to grant
me that I may shed my blood with those exiles and captives for His name, even
though I should be denied a grave, or my body be woefully torn to pieces limb by
limb by hounds or wild beasts, or the fowls of the air devour it. I am firmly
convinced that if this should happen to me, I would have gained my soul together
with my body, because on that day without doubt we shall rise in the brightness
of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as sons of the
living God and joint heirs with Christ, to be made conformable to His image; for
of Him, and by Him, and in Him we shall reign.
For this sun which we see rises daily for us because He commands so, but it
will never reign, nor will its splendour last; what is more, those wretches who
adore it will be miserably punished. Not so we, who believe in, and worship, the
true sun---Christ---who will never perish, nor will he who doeth His will; but
he will abide for ever as Christ abideth for ever, who reigns with God the
Father Almighty and the Holy Spirit before time, and now, and in all eternity.
Amen.
Behold, again and again would I set forth the words of my confession. I
testify in truth and in joy of heart before God and His holy angels that I never
had any reason except the Gospel and its promises why I should ever return to
the people from whom once before I barely escaped.
I pray those who believe and fear God, whosoever deigns to look at or receive
this writing which Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, has composed in Ireland, that
no one should ever say that it was my ignorance if I did or showed forth
anything however small according to God's good pleasure; but let this be your
conclusion and let it so be thought, that---as is the perfect truth---it was the
gift of God. This is my confession before I die.